Birth of Christ (Cologne)

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Exterior view from the inner courtyard

The Birth of Christ is a Catholic parish church in the Cologne district of Bocklemünd / Mengenich , which was built from 1969 to 1971 according to plans by the architect Eduard Frieling and consecrated in September 1972 . The church is dedicated to the birth of Christ , a patronage for a Catholic church that is probably unique in Germany .

Prehistory and construction

Since the mid-1960s, the large Bocklemünd / Mengenich housing estate was built in the west of Cologne, with living space for around 10,000 people. The archbishopric acquired a central piece of land with - comparatively small - 4000 m 2 for a church with a parish center and began in 1966 with the specific planning and an architectural competition , from which the design by the Hamburg architect Frieling emerged as the winner.

From the first groundbreaking in September 1968 to the actual start of construction in January 1969, a black wooden cross was placed on the construction site, which has stood in front of the church to this day. The foundation stone was laid on March 30, 1969. The first construction phase comprised the church, priest house and nurses' apartments, for which the topping-out ceremony was celebrated on September 5, 1969. From April 4, 1971, the church could be used for church services, and on September 3, 1972, Joseph Höffner consecrated the birth of Christ.

View from the south
Street view from the southwest

In the following years the equipment of the church was supplemented by an organ (1976) and a way of the cross (1979/1980).

An anteroom designed by the Cologne architect Johannes Schilling was added to the building in 2002.

Building description

The church and the surrounding parish buildings as well as a day-care center are slightly elevated from street level and are grouped around an inner courtyard, the main entrance of which opens onto a pedestrian zone. The optical center of this ensemble is the church with its multi-pointed and folded surfaces without right angles, from which the triangular tower rises up towards the inside of the courtyard. Overall, however, the complex is cautious in terms of its dimensions compared to the neighboring high-rises.

The actual church space stands on a floor plan in the form of a pentagon, at the jagged tip of which is the altar. At the side, the basic shape is extended by a chapel over which a gallery spans. The floor lowers towards the altar, which reinforces the dynamism of the diagonal room lines. The altar area made of white marble, raised again by three steps, is separated from the rest of the room in terms of material and color. The rear wall of the altar, with a large mural, forms a sloping shaft that widens towards the top and brings indirect light into the chancel from above.

Furnishing

Outside window

Ludwig Schaffrath's window surfaces are just as asymmetrical as the wall surfaces of the overall building. The two narrow side windows, through which most of the light penetrates, are made of almost colorless lead glazing. Blue tones dominate the free compositions of the Marienkapelle and the south window.

In 1971, the sculptor Sepp Hürten designed the central pieces of equipment altar, ambo , tabernacle and baptismal font made of white marble. The Eternal Light , the altar cross and the altar candlestick are also from Hürten . A concrete relief by Klaus-Heinz Monecke breaks open the wall surfaces on one side. There is also a fresco-like wall painting with motifs from the New Testament by Hermann Gottfried and the Way of the Cross by the same artist .

Two sculptures complete the equipment: A late baroque wooden Madonna in the confessional chapel dates from the 18th century. In 1984 a new, “baroque” wooden sculpture of Joseph of Nazareth was added.

The three manual organ with 29 registers was built in 1979 by Orgelbau Romanus Seifert & Sohn ; The asymmetrical shape of the oak wood prospect corresponds to the architecture.

The ringing of the bell foundry Petit & Gebr. Edelbrock initially consisted of three bells; A fourth was added in 1983. The impact sounds are ges 1 -as 1 -ces 2 -des 2 .

Web links

Commons : Nativity of Christ  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f Wilhelm Löhers: The parish church "The Birth of Christ" An example of modern church building in the Archdiocese of Cologne . Cologne 5th February 1986.
  2. ↑ a b Chronic of the parish of Christ's birth. Retrieved April 25, 2020 .
  3. ↑ a b c Helmut Fußbroich, Dierk Holthausen: Architectural Guide Cologne: Sacred Buildings after 1900 . 1st edition. Bachem, Cologne 2005, ISBN 3-7616-1683-X , p. 244-255 .
  4. ↑ Cologne-Bocklemünd-Mengenich, Catholic Church of the Birth of Christ. In: glasmalerei-ev.net. Research Center for Glass Painting of the 20th Century, July 8, 2008, accessed on April 24, 2020 .
  5. ↑ a b Monika Schmelzer: The birth of Christ . In: Manfred Becker-Huberti, Günter A. Menne (Ed.): Churches in Cologne. The churches of the Catholic and Protestant communities in Cologne. Bachem, Cologne 2004, ISBN 3-7616-1731-3 , p. 45-46 .
  6. ^ Gerhard Hoffs: Bells of Catholic churches in Cologne . Cologne 1985, p. 255 ( archive.org [PDF]).

Coordinates: 50 ° 58 ′ 46.1 ″  N , 6 ° 51 ′ 55.8 ″  E